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Mediterranean isles are all idyllic but here are some
with points of difference. By Paul Edwards.

Mediterranean means - roughly - sea in the middle of the land.
But there's also land in the middle of the sea; hundreds of islands
stretching from the cliffs of Asia Minor to the burning shores of
Africa.

To the north and west are more islands in the sun; more than a
travel feature can cover. To go close to a manageable description,
something has to give. Fortunately, there will be another time for
the beautiful islands of the eastern Mediterranean - I promise.

But even without these little dots in the warm seas around
Greece and Turkey there are enough islands to keep a traveller
happy for a lifetime.

Think Sicily, Sardinia, Elba, Malta, Ibiza, Corsica, Gozo, Capri
- the list of holiday islands goes on and on. Even more have to
give. Perhaps the best approach is to feature the islands that are
remarkable for their differences rather than their
similarities.

SARDINIA: TWO-FACED ISLAND

On the map there's just one island, but when you get there
you'll find two distinct Sardinias. If you're wondering which is
the right destination for you, take the ice-cream test and try two
gelati in Sardinia.

On the wealthy Costa Smeralda I was served an ice-cream with
enormous speed and efficiency by a Tom Cruise look-alike - all
teeth, tan and ambition. But on Sardinia's quieter western coast -
the Riviera de Corallo - it was served, quite slowly and with
elegance, by a girl with the face of an angel.

My vote goes - narrowly - to this less-visited shore. There I
found a seat in Alghero's Piazza Civica, where the late afternoon
sun was warming the old stones and the fishing boats were back at
anchor just through the archway of the Porta al Mare.

I reflected, as I ate my ice-cream and watched the locals make
their evening passeggiata through the ancient square and the Door
to the Sea, that the world is not such a bad place after all.

By contrast, at a little cafe near the marina at Porto Cervo on
the Costa Smeralda, watching beautiful young things leaping on and
off their yachts, I reflected mainly that most people seemed to
have a lot more money than I.

It's all very idyllic, the sea is always blue and the weather
from May to October is invariably perfect. But is this plutocrats'
playground Sardinia? No - not if you mean the rugged Sardinia with
its roots in prehistory and its future in a possible split with
mother Italy.

To see the real Sardinia you could take the overnight ferry from
Livorno on the Italian mainland to Olbia just below the Costa
Smeralda. Perhaps hire a little Fiat - although Ferraris are
available - and take the road that skirts the millionaire belt,
heading north and then west.

Head inland now, towards Sassari and Alghero. The hills crowd
the shoreline, the villages are few and the roads are empty.

Dotted around the fields, sticking up through olive groves like
huge rock cones, are the remains of forts built by the mysterious
Nuragic people, who came here long before the Romans and
Phoenicians.

A little way down the coast along a precipitous new highway is
the ancient town of Bosa, where lace making and timber working keep
many of the locals occupied.

There is, of course, a great deal more to Sardinia than the
Costa Smeralda and the Riviera del Corallo - there's a whole
islandful of things to see and do. South-central is where the main
chain of mountains runs; snow-capped for four months of the year
and a popular climbing and walking venue in gentler seasons.

The coastline is longer than mainland Italy's entire western
side, with resorts dotted around natural harbours and scenic
inlets. You could take in most of them in a two-day tour by
car.

But nothing compares with the Costa Smeralda or the Riviera del
Corallo. It just depends on how you like your gelati.

CORSICA: THE BANDITS ARE STILL HERE

Most people know two things about Corsica: Napoleon was born
here and it was the haunt of bandits.

The first is correct; the second is in the wrong tense. The
bandits are still here, taking potshots at anything that smacks of
French domination and flexing their muscles in the struggle for
independence.

But don't let that stop you visiting this magical place; perhaps
the best-kept secret in the western Mediterranean. The bandits are
not out to get you - their main purpose in life seems to be the
destruction of French road signs, although from time to time
they'll blow up a public building.

Drive along the mountain roads and riotously beautiful coastal
corniche highways and you'll see signs in two languages - French
and Corsu, the indigenous language derived from Tuscan Italian.
Invariably the French signs are defaced.

There is nothing new about this - Corsicans have been fighting
since at least Roman times and it is thought the word and concept
"vendetta" originated here. And this is precisely why the island is
that European rarity - a tourist paradise without tourist
overload.

We sailed into Ajaccio - pronounced Ayachoo - on a stylish
overnight Moby ferry from Marseilles. We could also have flown or
sailed across from an Italian harbour, but Marseilles is the port
of choice for most visitors. As soon as the ferry docked we could
smell good food and within two minutes of landing I was walking
through the city's waterfront marketplace eating sweet onion
pasties.

The little town (pop. 68,000) rises from the harbour into the
maquis-covered hills. Its blank-faced houses betray the long
influence of Genoa and the narrow, winding streets reveal the
historic need to take cover and man the barricades.

Up above the town are some of the wildest mountains in Europe,
accessed by skinny roads and forest tracks. A highway of sorts runs
around the coast, but the interior is almost uninhabited. Many
people come here to test their stamina and courage against a harsh
landscape; many more come to laze around in idyllic coastal towns
and villages.

Cap Corse, a crooked cape pointing towards the French-Italian
rivieras, is the prime destination for travellers who take time to
study where they're going. Bastia is the main town and Plage de
Saleccia the region's showpiece beach.

At the other end of the island is the magical little town of
Bonifacio, with streets so white and water so blue your eyes start
to hurt. Perched on a crumbling cliff above a harbour where
tycoons' yachts are moored, the town looks across the narrow
straits to northern Sardinia.

SICILY: WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

The triangular island at the toe of the Italian mainland is one
of the world's most historic places. It has known more owners than
an op-shop dinner suit and is richly decorated with ruins of
ancient civilisations.

But for many armchair travellers, Sicily means just one thing -
the Mafia. Even though there are possibly more members of the
Honoured Society walking the avenues of New York than the streets
of Palermo, the Mafia is still Sicily's best-known export.

Get over it. Spend a week, a month or a year in Sicily and the
odds are you'll find Mafia evidence only in your imagination.
Instead, look around this most fascinating of all islands,
sweltering in the Mediterranean sun.

By far the most populous Mediterranean island, with 5.9 million
inhabitants, Sicily has big cities and mountains, long curving
beaches and a way of life like nowhere else. It is as though the
Sicilians have given in to history; with a shrug of the shoulders
they wait for problems to sort themselves out.

Time is, after all, on their side - in Agrigento you can see a
girl's skull that dates back half a million years.

Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Spaniards, English adventurers,
Goths, Arabs - they've all come and gone. Now the world is
arriving, looking for a taste of Italy on the wild side.

They find it at Mount Etna, the ominous, ever-dangerous volcano
that is the island's highest peak. They find it in the cheerful and
vaguely corrupt inefficiency that governs everything from transport
to licensing laws. They find a touch of the wild side in the spooky
back streets of Siracusa and Palermo.

Sunshine is the dominant feature of this little island off the
African coast. Sun, sea, sand and ancient buildings are why
Hollywood is in a sweaty love affair with Malta. With a bit of art
direction it can be ancient Rome, Africa or Asia. Troy was filmed
here; as was Alexander, Cutthroat Island and Asterix & Obelix.
While making Gladiator here, Russell Crowe perspired in the sun,
and Oliver Reed expired in a bar.

Half-frozen Brits head for their Maltese timeshare villas every
winter, joining the 400,000 locals already living in a place little
bigger than Phillip Island. There's no denying the place is crowded
but there is still space to stretch out on a rocky beach and do the
tourist thing around the main island, smaller Gozo and tiny
Comino.

It's a lively, happy, outdoor sort of place, with people either
preparing for the next festa or recovering from the last one.
Street bands, parties, fireworks, decorations are much in
favour.

Sometimes it seems the only way to escape the crowds is to get
underwater - but even there you'll often find company. The dives
around the rock caves are among the most popular in the world.

LITTLE GEMS NEAR NAPLES

The Bay of Naples is a tourist destination without peer. The
city itself is an eye-opener; up above you have Vesuvius; near sea
level you have the amazing ruins of Pompeii; hit the road and
you'll journey to Sorrento and Amalfi.

But for many, the best bits are out to sea - the little group of
islands just a short ferry ride offshore. Procida is the closest,
smallest and perhaps the least known.

Largest in the group is Ischia, where although the beaches are
undoubtedly beautiful, it's the thermal waters that are the
greatest drawcard. The island is volcanic and, while there hasn't
been an eruption for 700 years, hot springs bubble up all over the
place.

Ischia is a favourite holiday spot for northern Italians, hence
the vast number of good restaurants and nightclubs.

The most famous of the Bay of Naples group is Capri, the Blue
Island, with its towering cliffs, breathtaking sea caves and
picture-perfect town square. Floating just off the cape between
Sorrento and Positano, Capri is ridiculously beautiful.

Unfortunately, in the European summer it is also ridiculously
crowded. The trick is to simply accept it for what it is - a
beautiful, romantic place overrun with people not necessarily
sharing those qualities.

THE BALEARICS: THE GOOD, THE BLAND, THE
UGLY

The non-identical triplets off the east coast of Spain are
Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza. Majorca is big enough to have a couple
of mountain ranges with hidden valleys and scattered villages. It
also has more than 500kmZ of coastline and beaches ranging from
idyllic to grossly overdeveloped.

Undeniably beautiful, Majorca might be just a tad too pretty for
its own good and from June to late August its accommodation
properties are too crowded for comfort.

But go there at other times and you'll find a wide-awake capital
(Palma), some of the world's greatest restaurants, exquisite
beaches and a hinterland where you can meet people who still speak
their old dialect.

Minorca is the island that most people forget. Life here is
slower than on its brasher siblings. Its nightlife is not worth
losing sleep over, and an indication of its place in the scheme of
things is its most famous man-made attraction - a pipe organ in the
cathedral.

If you're 19 years old with a taste for loud music, party drugs
and rapidly developing friendships, Ibiza might be just the place
for you. Outside this demographic it starts to lose its charm.